Is Disney smoking crack or what???

[queenofhartz]

We haven't been on Crystal, but have looked at it and I don't think Disney compares to it. In fact, we liked Celebrity better as a cruiseline overall. What gets us with Disney is the programming for small kids. Other lines don't compare. If that's not a factor for you, then I'd go with Celebrity over Disney any day.

Well, this would just be for DH and I. DS (who will be 3 at that time) would be spending the week with his Grandparents (getting spoiled, of course). With the Disney prices so high, I'm going to look further into Celebrity's European cruise. Thanks so much!!

 

[Im_A_Princess]

I have the same thoughts as you. I cancelled my 2009 cruise on the Magic because I am so disappointed in how nothing was done for passengers during the dry dock. Even the menus weren't replaced, so they were tattered! We had talked with our TA about booking the Magic for a Trans-atlantic or Northern Europe, but after getting off the cruise on October 4th, I went ahead and cancelled the 2009 DCL bookings. (I need to go update my signature...)

I am also looking at the Oasis.

The repairs that were not done during dry dock also has me questioning our B2B magic cruise next summer. Since I now know the rooms were not fixed as we were told by many staff members, I will not be going on the Baltic or any other cruise on the Magic in 2010.
I do not mean to bring this all up again and harp on this but our cabin was NOT at DCL standards for the EB Repo cruise.
I kept making excuses for our EB Repo 2 cat 5 rooms that cost us almost 25G. I will not pay that again for rooms in the condition our rooms were in. I expect DCL "perfection" for those prices. I am not making excuses for DCL any more for the issues with our room. The bed wad horrible. The condition of the baths were horrible. I do not expect caked on dirt in all the crevices of the tile floor (hint...don't look at the floor while using the loo), rusty sinks, black scratch dents all in the tub and a shower head that sucked, dents all over the furniture, worn looking bed linens and blankets, worn looking towels,...! Not for those prices!
We can cruise RCC for almost 22 days for the cost of our 14 day DCL next summer.
DCL has me really bummed right now. We have done 9 cruises with them in 2 YEARS. This hurts.
Where is the Magic

 

[Disney Fool]

Maybe you should all rename this thread "Lets all bash Disney because we're upset about the prices, and by the way, think up anything negative we can possibly say about the cruiseline and prevent anyone else from booking." It's amazing how you all were singing Disney's praises two weeks ago....

 

[Melrosgirl]

<---- just laughing at Disney Fool's signature line.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

I've been looking into taking Carnival's 12 night Baltic cruise and the cruise only costs are around $6000 for a family of four for the cheapest cabins. You get the same ports of call and to be honest a European Cruise is all about the ports you visit. Now wether people would be willing to pay Disney's huge sticker price for the Disney Experience alone is open to debate, however the cost of a visit to Disneyland Paris is ridiculously high but people still visit in large numbers. Possibly the biggest mystery is why they're sending a ship to the Baltics for ports of call which might not appeal to families with children and also in the month of June when most European kids are still in School. It would have made more sense to have an all Mediterranean itinerary.

 

[Im_A_Princess]

I have been on DCL but not on other cruise lines. For those of you that have been on multiple cruiselines, how would you rank them (service, food, excursions...) other than price? How would you compare RCCL, NCL, HAL, Celebrity with DCL?

This would be great to know. We have never sailed anything but DCL.

 

[justhat]

I have been on DCL but not on other cruise lines. For those of you that have been on multiple cruiselines, how would you rank them (service, food, excursions...) other than price? How would you compare RCCL, NCL, HAL, Celebrity with DCL?

I wish DCL will list out the available excursions for the med/baltic cruises so we can look into it more. I've priced out the med/baltic quotes on other lines and it seems the the dcl med is somewhat more than other lines (~$2000) while the dcl baltic can be ~4-5k more. Thanks.

drew

I personally would rank them as follows:
Celebrity
Disney
RCCL
Princess

RCCL I would say is close under DCL and Princess was way below both of them. We did not like Princess at all. Celebrity we liked a lot and will be sailing on them again when our kids are older. But as of now, with the kids clubs on DCL, we'll be sailing with them only for awhile.

 

[Claire L]

Possibly the biggest mystery is why they're sending a ship to the Baltics for ports of call which might not appeal to families with children and also in the month of June when most European kids are still in School. It would have made more sense to have an all Mediterranean itinerary.

I must say the only itnierary that interests us in Europe is the Baltic cruise and as we have no kids June is an ideal month.

Claire

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

I must say the only itnierary that interests us in Europe is the Baltic cruise and as we have no kids June is an ideal month.

Claire

But would you be willing to pay so much more for the Disneyness when there are other lines of a higher quality doing the same route for much less?

 

[Claire L]

But would you be willing to pay so much more for the Disneyness when there are other lines of a higher quality doing the same route for much less?

Yes I think we would be as we know the Disney brand. Having checked the other lines their basic prices are similar but their 40% offer makes it a better deal in some ways. But as this is a one off cruise, our first as well, I would be willing to pay the extra.

Claire

 

[Fantasy Land Girl]

Frankly I am hoping the higher prices bring serious DCL cruisers. Our last cruise (Wonder 8/3) dining experiences included many sleeveless T-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. And that's just the men!!

 

[cruellababy]

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

Yes I think we would be as we know the Disney brand. Having checked the other lines their basic prices are similar but their 40% offer makes it a better deal in some ways. But as this is a one off cruise, our first as well, I would be willing to pay the extra.

Claire

We took our first cruise this year and I thought this would be an ideal line to go on, but I personally feel that booking it would be similar to booking a Disney resort hotel whenever we've been to Orlando. Although we have total faith in the Disney brand, the amount of time we'd actually spend in the hotel at WDW didn't justify the extra cost, so we always plumped for off-site hotels and saved a ton of cash in doing so. I figured that the same would be with choosing DCL, on such a port intensive itinerary would you really get your money's worth on the ship, and I don't feel we would. That said whoever chooses to go on DCL would have a great time nonetheless.

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

Frankly I am hoping the higher prices bring serious DCL cruisers. Our last cruise (Wonder 8/3) dining experiences included many sleeveless T-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. And that's just the men!!

If they're charging $22000 for a 12 night break I don't think many will be able to spend much on their wardrobe.

 

[Claire L]

We took our first cruise this year and I thought this would be an ideal line to go on, but I personally feel that booking it would be similar to booking a Disney resort hotel whenever we've been to Orlando. Although we have total faith in the Disney brand, the amount of time we'd actually spend in the hotel at WDW didn't justify the extra cost, so we always plumped for off-site hotels and saved a ton of cash in doing so. I figured that the same would be with choosing DCL, on such a port intensive itinerary would you really get your money's worth on the ship, and I don't feel we would. That said whoever chooses to go on DCL would have a great time nonetheless.

Thats the thing we like Disney deluxe resorts, hence buying AKV last year. We also like to spend time in a nice room, and with 4 days at sea I think we would have plenty of time to enjoy the room and balcony, plus the onboard spa.

Claire

 

[Justthe8ofus]

Frankly I am hoping the higher prices bring serious DCL cruisers. Our last cruise (Wonder 8/3) dining experiences included many sleeveless T-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. And that's just the men!!

Could you be a TROLL??

Ignore the troll behind the curtain guys.

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

That was my first thought. A little

 

[Justthe8ofus]

I've been looking into taking Carnival's 12 night Baltic cruise and the cruise only costs are around $6000 for a family of four for the cheapest cabins. Possibly the biggest mystery is why they're sending a ship to the Baltics for ports of call which might not appeal to families with children and also in the month of June when most European kids are still in School.[/I]

*see thread title*

I used Carnival 2xs for the Med. It was fine. It's all about the ports in Europe.

 

[cmash95]

just a note for those of you talking about carnival and princess. I have cruised both lines and their cheapest cabins are tiny. yes four can sleep in them but you would be littlerally on top of each other doing so. In order to get the space you get in a disney cabin you have to get a catagory 10 or better and on princess you have to get a mini suite. those catagories are a bit more expensive, but worth it for the space.

 

[rolyjp]

At the risk of being shot down...going on a cruise, much less a Disney cruise, may not be in the cards for some or most of us.

Yes, the cruise is pricey but why do we all assume that it would be a "budget" cruise? Since when does a Disney cruise to any port is a budget cruise. A Disney Cruise has almost always been higher than other lines. Yes, you may get a cheaper deal elsewhere. Yes, you can plan a trip on your own going to the same port of calls (staying in hotels and eating at local restaurants). So the question is, why aren't you booking other deals? Talking about how pricey the cruise has become will not lower the price. If you can't afford it, don't go. If you can get a better deal, get it.

Life is not always a fairy tale where everyone gets to go on a Disney cruise.